Be Your Child’s Best Advocate! Application Deadline December 31

Partners in Policymaking is a nationally recognized training program funded by the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities

Join the ranks of parents and self-advocates who have been trained through the NC Partners in Policymaking!  Learn to advocate at all levels: locally, regionally, and nationally.  This is a no-cost opportunity that is truly outstanding.  You will benefit, whether you’re a parent or an individual with an intellectual or developmental disability.  I was honored to participate in this program several years ago and can assure you that it has helped me as an advocate for my children and others.  I’ve met with then-Speaker Joe Hackney, Congressman David Price (in Washington, D.C.) and others…something I would NEVER have considered before Partners in Policymaking (PIP).  It’s important for our political leaders to hear from us, constituents who vote, who speak out, and who have children/family members with autism!

From the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities:  “Those selected to take part learn about how to communicate with public officials and legislators and the general public, often making use of the media. Through a series of eight weekend seminars they also gain information about the structure of laws and agencies that determine and administer programs affecting people with disabilities. 

An innovative leadership training program created in 1987 by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, Partners in Policymaking™ provides adults with disabilities and the parents of young children with developmental disabilities the skills needed to be effective advocates. Participants learn how to build partnerships with elected officials, legislators, agencies and opinion leaders so that they can better express their views on the policy decisions affecting the services they and their families use. 

The Partners program is all about systems change, from creating a shared vision of a system that promotes full inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in the community, and making it a reality through working with leaders to base public policy decisions on the experiences of those who need and use services.”

For more information, contact Deborah Whitfield at partners@nccdd.org.  Application deadline is December 31.

NOTE: If you have an autism spectrum disorder or are the parent/relative of someone with autism, PLEASE contact the Autism Society of NC if you are chosen to participate in this training.  We would like to connect you with our ongoing grassroots advocacy (and you’ll need a project to do at the end of the training—we can help!).

North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities Survey

 We want to hear from North Carolina!   The Council is developing its next Five Year State Plan.

 If you live in North Carolina and are a person with a disability, family member of a person with a disability, a professional service provider or a citizen concerned about disability issues, we want your input!  By listening to you we’ll learn what is working and where strategic change can further strengthen services and supports and the communities in which people live.  

 Click here for our online survey.  www.nccdd.org

 The survey is available through October 15, 2010.

 Call 919-420-7901 or 1-800-357-6716 (TTY) to request an alternate format of the survey or for assistance completing the survey.   We ask that you share this opportunity with others by forwarding this announcement. Thank you, North Carolina! 

POLICY TO THE PEOPLE!

The man sat in front facing us.  He spoke with casual ease, immediately making us feel like we’re already friends.  ”How many of you live in an apartment, condo, or home that I can get in?  Show of hands?”  I looked around.  Two hands were raised.  ”Guess who’s not coming to dinner!”, he quipped.  Our speaker then shared some of his experiences and at the end of his talk, he asked if we would think about the next time we were going to rent, build, or buy a home.  Would it be a structure that could include him and others in wheelchairs?

Mark Johnson, Director of Advocacy for The Shepherd Center and founder of ADAPT, was one of four national speakers I heard last weekend.  Mark leads by example, showing how one person can make a difference for people with disabilities.  As a newly accepted 2010 North Carolina Partners in Policymaking trainee, I’m learning to change the world for people with developmental disabilities.  The first place I’m starting is in my home.

Mind mapping, brainstorming, a mind-blowing history of disability, public speaking, tales of civil disobedience with intent, landmark litigation and legislation, table swapping, and note writing etiquette were just some of the topics we discussed, or practiced.  (We just talked about the civil disobedience part!)  And that was only the first session.

Twenty-eight advocates and parent advocates selected from across the state gathered in Raleigh to begin this intensive advocacy training.  It was the first whirlwind weekend in a series of eight monthly trainings.  Modeled after Minnesota’s successful program, NC Partners in Policymaking produces graduates who advocate at every level of government and who create and participate in community initiatives that promote inclusion.

Funded by the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities, NC Partners in Policymaking is part of an international program and has a mouthful of a mission statement.  What it boils down to is this:  The people who need and use services should know how to work with leaders to decide policy that affects them, and then go out and do that. The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities is “building bridges to community”.  NC Partners in Policymaking is building the builders of these bridges.

When we speak of disability rights, we’re not only talking about services and supports.  The issue is not about disability; we’re talking about people.  The issue is civil rights.  This hit me hard; it reminded me of what my teenage son said.  ”I’m not a woman or in a wheelchair, and I’m not African-American.  But I’m still discriminated against because I have autism.”  He was speaking about social acceptance in high school, but I wonder if someday he’ll want to be a candidate for NC Partners in Policymaking.  I hope he and others in North Carolina will continue to have this incredible opportunity to experience what I’m learning.

The fact that society still talks about Inclusion as an issue only highlights how much work still needs to be done.  Disability issues are civil rights issues.  I want to hear your stories of how the civil rights of people with autism have been violated.